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5 Ways To Control Your Hunger

Taking control of your hunger can be the best way to live a healthier, happier and longer life. As we see more and more fitness buffs, juicing trends, smoothie diets and all manners of fads infiltrate the male market, we can identify a certain problem that exists within our society.

Obesity as quoted by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) affect 34.9% of the American Population (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html). Over a third of Americans are or will be obese. Over 30% of younger adults aged 20-39 are considered obese along with a staggering 39.5% of adults between the ages of 40-59. There is a ton of science that talks about the problems, preventable diseases attributed to being overweight and who is affected by it, but today is on how you can control your hunger.

Prevalence of Self-Reported Obesity Among U.S. Adults by State and Territory, BRFSS, 2014

Before we get into the 5 steps to controlling your hunger I want to clarify that I am not a doctor or nutritionist. This comes from a man who lost 20 pounds in just over a month (to look better during a weeding ceremony) who has consulted many fitness buffs on ways to improve health.

Beyond anything else, this is a common sense guide that cuts through the fluff and complexities of dietary fads to help you make the right choices today. By following these 5 steps to controlling your hunger, you will have taken a huge step to a healthier, happier life.

Buy In To What You Are About To Do:

Before you begin anything, you need to take a close look at why this is important for you. The main reason that people fail at taking on these difficult tasks is that they don’t have the motivation to start or the motivation to continue. Self help books, YouTube speeches and videos can all help, but the underlying motivator is you. You as an individual need to know why you’re starting and why you will keep fighting this battle.

This is not an easy undertaking and shares many of the characteristics of serious addictions. If you’re not prepared to take on a battle it will be difficult to win. Get pumped on what a healthier future looks and feels like, there are so many benefits to controlling you food intake. A better sex life, a longer life, reduced chance of common disease, being able to chase down the guy who tried to steal a beautiful lady’s purse which makes you a hero… etc.

Use the calculator at the end of this article to calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index) to see your weight status.

Recognize The “Hunger” Urge:

There is a difference between being hungry and craving food. From early on in our lives, we have been tricked into thinking that eating solves our problems. It all began when we were babies, initially there was not much outside of eating and releasing the food that we could physically do. Our first effort as parents in solving the problem is to feed the baby or give them a pacifier. Most of the time it actually solved a genuine hunger issue. As we got older and started developing more reasons to cry, our parents often initiated first response – give the kid something to eat. Unfortunately, that impulse continues in us today and we continue to feed it, literally.

We must understand that taking a bite of anything will not solve a problem, make us feel any happier or more complete at this moment (especially if we have had our standard meals already). These urges link back to our adolescence and we have continued to support them into your adult life.

Recognize that the urge is usually not hunger and say no!

Just Eat Good Food:

Simply put, make the better selection when you are hungry. For the most part, you already know what that selection is and don’t need someone to read out the calorie count of a grilled chicken wrap with fresh vegetables on the side vs. a three-piece fried chicken and fries dinner. Use your judgment and opt-in for the healthier option. You will soon realize that even most fast-food places now offer a healthier option.

While you’re doing groceries, stay away from anything that does not look like it was “manufactured by earth”. Fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat is your starting point. Water, and real juice (non concentrate and watch the sugar count).

Avoid the Beer, Pop/Soda, Cookies, Chips and even frozen food isles – think about it this way… you’re spending money on things that are not giving you nutrition and are actually harmful. If you’re proud to be a non-smoker, you should also be proud to be a non-pop-drinker.

Stay Far From Tempting Situations:

We may feel that our will power is tremendous at times and that may very well be true. However when it comes to eating, our instincts sometimes overwhelm us, the aroma, texture and even sight of certain foods is enough to break a diet in the strongest of minds. Reality is that strong minds understand their weaknesses and don’t walk into an ice cream shop when they need to buy a bottle of water. Your work buddies can invite you to their favorite burger joint every day for lunch or after work, but it’s up to you to say no. Who knows, they may even be inspired by your choices as well!

Stay out of the fire if you don’t want to get burned. Recognize where the temptation is and just don’t go.

Designate A Cheat Day:

Inevitable many of us will feel some sense of withdrawal (discomfort from not satisfying our addiction). Especially at the start, you body will not be happy about the change that you are inflicting on it, it’s accustomed to certain intake habits and as you change them it will go through a process. Mentally you will feel the battle and physically you will feel the battle. To help ease a bit of both mind and body, just designate a cheat day. In other words a day where there are no restrictions and you can eat pretty much whatever you want. You can have one cheat day on a weekly basis.

The reality is that once you get in the habit of resisting the cravings and eating better, you won’t want to splurge on your cheat day but we will leave that for you to discover.

Conclusion On Controlling Hunger:

Once you succeed you will also have learned how to say no 100 times in a day to overcome an urge, just imagine what else will that do for your will power. What else will you be able to overcome in life?

The future is yours, it begins when you recognize an issue and take a step towards improvement.

Try these steps and let us know how it went, remember that you mind is your most powerful tool and all things start with your attitude.

Subscribe to The Man’s Den as we will be covering more ideas on healthy and delicious meals as well as improvement advice.

Let us know how your 5 step challenge went and feel to share your experiences with our community by leaving a comment.